The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, challenging a controversial Pentagon policy that bars journalists from reporting any information—even unclassified material—unless it has been formally cleared by defense officials. The newspaper says the rule, put in place in September, essentially requires reporters to rely solely on official channels for military news, and it threatens punishment for those who don't comply, reports NPR. The Times, along with NPR and other major outlets, opted to surrender their Pentagon press passes rather than agree to the restrictions.
The lawsuit, which also names Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, claims that the policy violates constitutional protections for free speech and a free press, with a court brief describing the restrictions as the kind of "speech and press-restrictive scheme that the Supreme Court and DC Circuit have recognized violates the First Amendment." The Times also contends that the Pentagon blindsided reporters with the new rules, offering no way to appeal the decision.
The policy parallels other moves by the Trump administration to sideline critical media, including a new White House "media bias offender tipline." Meanwhile, the Pentagon has welcomed a new press corps made up of outlets with a pronounced pro-Trump slant, including the Gateway Pundit and LindellTV, supported by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Pentagon press chief Kingsley Wilson dismissed the departing legacy media, saying that they "chose to self-deport from this building." The Pentagon Press Association, meanwhile, says it's been "encouraged" by seeing the Times' attempts to "step up and defend press freedom," per CNN.
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